Health officials said skin problems reported by several fishermen and at least one surfer in Volusia County were caused by a common environmental bacteria called methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus or MRSA. Reports about the infection raised concerns swimmers or other watersports enthusiasts also might be at risk.

But Dr. Howard Rodenberg, Volusia County's health director, emphasized such infections were not the result of a so-called "flesh-eating bacteria" caused by a group A streptococcus that sometimes can result in life-threatening infections.

Rodenberg and Dr. Saroj Aggarwal, director of epidemiology at the Brevard County Health Department, said there have been "no outbreaks" of this type of infection in either county, nor even a single reported case of illness caused by flesh-eating bacteria.

Infections with methicillin-resistant bacteria are "usually hospital-acquired" in individuals whose immune systems have been weakened by disease, Aggarwal said.

The bacteria also are commonly found in the home and in the workplace, "but not necessarily from the ocean," Rodenberg said.

Infections with this type of bacteria either resolve on their own or by using different antibiotic drugs, the two health officials said. MRSA does not cause damage to muscles, fat and skin tissues, according to Rodenberg.

"The big message here" is one of prevention, Rodenberg stressed.

"Bacteria live in the ocean, and they're always going to be there," he said. "So, if you have an open wound, you probably don't want to go swimming in the ocean."